{a-town adventures: st. patty’s weekend fun}

Hello friends!

How was your St. Patty’s Day weekend? Ours was pretty crazy. My cousin and her husband came to town so we made sure they had an extra special stay. We started out our Saturday at the Georgia Aquarium, one of the nicest and biggest aquariums in our region. We had a blast! The aquarium was divided into different themed sections and hosted fish and creatures from all over the world. My favorite part may have been the big ocean viewing room. It had this humongous glass wall and behind it, all these different sea creatures from whale sharks to tiny schools of fish. Another favorite was probably the dolphin show. All the dolphins were incredibly well trained performing all kinds of fun tricks. I decided dolphin trainer should be in the top five list of coolest jobs!

{scenes from the georgia aquarium}

{so much fun!}

After the aquarium, we headed over to our friends’ place for nighttime St. Patty’s Day adventures. They took us over to this place called Flip Flops, a little beach house themed bar in Midtown. Their specialty appeared to be these alcoholic slushies---yum! I got the Jet Fuel which was soooo good! Downstairs there was a live band (w/a bongo drum) playing covers of some classic songs. Upstairs there was a live dj playing great mixes, a large open dance floor, another bar with the liveliest bar tender I have ever seen, and a roof top patio. When we had first arrived the place wasn’t very full so we had plenty of space to get our dance groove on, however as soon as we were comfortable, the dance floor quickly filled up. We had so much fun there I think we will definitely be heading back!

{good times @ flip flops}

We ended our night at the Hudson Grill with wings and queso then took a nice upbeat stroll back home.

We had such an amazing time---it was definitely the best St. Patty’s Day we’ve ever celebrated!

I hope you all had a great St. Patty’s Day. It is one of the most fun holidays of the year!

What are your plans for this weekend? Anything fun?

So long for now,

The Mrs.

{recipe: irish i had a car bomb cupcake}

{boozie cupcake anyone?}

Why is she posting St. Patty’s day recipes, after St. Patty’s day you might ask? Well…all last week I had technical difficulties (worst week ever!) which equaled to no internet access outside of my iphone, thus, no blog posts. Bummer! But I’m back and you definitely don’t want to miss out on this recipe. I found it last year around this time at the Brown Eyed Baker’s blog and it intrigued me. I’ve never been a huge fan of the drink since my 22^nd birthday disaster (haha), but I figured it would be much more tolerable in cupcake form.

This was one of the first times I branched out and tried a more complex baking recipe. Luckily I had my trusty friend Giselle by my side (who is an excellent baker in my opinion). Our first batch came out ahhhmazzzing. Our second batch---not so much---that’s when we learned the dutch process cocoa could NOT be substituted and you can’t overbeat the frosting. Every batch since then has turned out wonderful (we got a lot of requests)! This year I was on my own as Giselle is all the way in a land I use to know---Chitown. They were as delicious as I remembered and the perfect treat to celebrate this fun holiday! This time around I found a very good (and slightly pricey) dutch process cocoa, and I could really tell the difference. It’s true what they say---better ingredients = better flavors.

No more talking now. Time for the good stuff!

{i followed the rainbow and found some gold!}

irish i had a car bomb cupcake:

Servings: 10 - 15

Source: brown eyed baker

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

·         1 cup Guinness stout

·         1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

·         3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         2 cups granulated sugar

·         1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

·         3/4 teaspoons salt

·         2 eggs

·         2/3 cup sour cream

Ingredients for the whiskey ganache filling (oh yes!):

·         8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

·         2/3 cup heavy cream

·         2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

·         2 teaspoons Irish whiskey

Ingredients for the bailey’s frosting:

·         2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

·         5 cups powdered sugar

·         6 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream

Cupcake How To:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2: Line 24 cupcake cups with liners.

Step 3: Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Step 4: Add the cocoa powder to the Guinness and butter and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Step 5: Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and, salt in a large bowl to combine.

Step 6: Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined.

Step 7: Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine.

Step 8: Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly.

Step 9: Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined.

Step 10: Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes (completely) on a rack.

Ganache How To:

Step 1: Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl.

Step 2: Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate.

Step 3: Let the cream sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth.

Step 4: Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.

Step 5: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.

Step 6: Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down.

Step 7: Transfer the ganache to a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Frosting How To:

Step 1: Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Step 2: Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated.

Step 3: Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy. BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERBEAT!!!

Step 4: Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.

{happy st. patty’s day}

Not the simplest recipe in the world but it definitely tops the list in terms of best chocolate cake recipes. Well, I’m off to eat another one!

See you later alligators!

The Mrs.